Recent research has investigated the impact of neighborhood violence on children's mental health and moral development. Based on the view that the way in which children construe their experiences of violence mediates the impact of unsafe neighborhoods and that children's narrative is important for children's construction of self and incorporation…

This book offers a collection of 30 fun-filled book-writing and book-making projects guaranteed to engage beginning writers of every ability level. Intended for teachers of kindergarten through grade 2, the book provides an easy-to-implement approach to bookmaking. Each of the books is thematic in content and shape and use rhyming poetry as a…

The purpose of this study is to show that children go through writing stages while learning to write. Understanding these stages can help children become more effective writers in expressing feelings, memories, and concerns to gain recognition with themselves and others. A literature review examined stages of writing and long-term results from…

In school, writing may be emphasized across the curriculum. There is a plethora of kinds of written work for students to be engaged in when studying science lessons and units. Poetry writing may be an excellent way for students to reveal what has been learned in a science unit. Many good poems dealing with science information are collected in…

Children Teaching Children (CTC): Collection II is a CD-ROM created at 6 elementary schools in the West Contra Costa Unified School District (California) as part of the Coaching Odyssey for school improvement. CTC II, published by the California Department of Education, is an effective early literacy intervention that integrates the development of…

A study compared two approaches to teaching 38 grade 4 students in Canada to write trickster tales. By integrating understandings from cognitive and neo-Piagetian theory into instructional method, a novel approach to writing instruction was created. The compositions of children taught via this method were compared to those of students who…

These materials are intended to support teachers in the selection of quality text from the full range included in England's National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching for Years 5 and 6. The materials contain examples of how to use the suggested text in reading and writing across the "Literacy Hour." Some of the text types…

This booklet is the Teacher's Manual for "Spell-Write" (Revised), a text to aid students in New Zealand in writing, spelling, and word study programs. "Spell-Write" (Revised) will be used predominantly in Years 4-7 classrooms. The overriding principle which has been retained in this revised edition is that of…

In this essay collection, scholars in the area of early literacy provide concrete strategies for achieving excellence in literacy instruction. The collection presents current, research-based information on the advances and refinements in the area of emerging literacy and the early stages of formal instruction in reading and writing. Following a…

Examines the relationship between an elementary language arts teacher's beliefs about and her students' conceptions of good writing. Interviews 15 fourth graders and their teacher. Indicates that the teacher's beliefs about writing have considerable impact on the pupils' perceptions of writing. Calls for sustained efforts in this new area of…

Observed writing strategies of two students in a primary, self-contained special education class using a whole language philosophy. Found that students showed concern for meaning and conventions and that they used metacognitive strategies, such as rereading or prior knowledge; external sources of help, including dictionaries or teacher assistance;…

Investigates whether training raters to interpret the scoring dimensions on a rubric would increase reliability. Compares two groups of kindergarten and first-grade teachers: one group with training, one without. Finds that training increases raters' abilities to reliably interpret scoring items. (SC)

Allows students to experience the trials and tribulations of traveling the Oregon Trail through reading diary and journal entries written by children of that time. Recommends three classroom activities for use with historical narratives: looking for the unexpected, identifying recurring events, and creating "imaginary" diaries based on…

Explains the pedagogical and psychological concepts behind the approach developed by UNESCO that encourages children to express themselves freely on the subject of international understanding and peace in writing and art. Describes a project in which these concepts were applied focusing on a minority dispersed over many parts of the world:…

Reports on an examination of books written by children who are English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners. Compares the books with criteria for meritorious literature. Discusses implications of the results relevant to process-writing instruction with second-language learners. Indicates an unexpected adherence to criteria for literary genres.…